NLS Press Release

NLS Participates in Siberian Exhibit

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS),
Library of Congress, was among nineteen countries participating in the International
Exhibition and Book Fair of Siberia 2002 held April 23-26 in Novosibirsk, Russia.

NLS exhibited its braille book materials as part of an exposition within the
international event. The exposition theme, "Editions in Alternative Formats
in the Electronic Age," also included a conference, "Libraries Providing
Services for People with Disabilities and Public Sector on the Way to Social
Partnership." The exposition was coordinated by Yuri Y. Lesnevsky, director
of the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The nineteen countries exhibiting, in addition to the United States, were Australia,
the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Commonwealth of Independent States,
Croatia, France, Japan, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania,
Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In all, there were 122
participants in the exposition and conference. In addition, there were 86 representatives
from 24 Russian regions who also visited the exposition exhibit.

NLS assisted Lesnevsky with development of the international exhibit. The NLS
Publications and Media Section provided exhibit and conference procedure suggestions
based upon NLS's experience with national and international exhibit planning.

The exposition's gold medal -- Diploma and Grand Gold Medal -- "for the
use of new, progressive technologies of social value and of modern design"
was awarded to the Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind. "Grandfather
Oscar's Stories," by Chilean writer Ernesto Lopez Arcos, was translated
from Spanish into Russian and then published in three alternative formats, braille
and tactile graphics, large print, and on cassette.

Organizations providing alternative format editions for display, in addition
to NLS, included the National Information and Library Service, Australia; Canadian
National Institute for the Blind, Canada; les Doigts qui Revent, France; Tsukuba
College of Technology, Japan; Talboks-och Punktskriftsbiblioteket, Sweden;
Bibliotheque Braille Romande et Livre Parle, Switzerland; National Library for
the Blind, United Kingdom; Royal London Society for the Blind, United Kingdom;
Royal National Institute for the Blind, United Kingdom; American Printing House for
the Blind, United States; Hadley School for the Blind, United States; Lutheran
Braille Workers, Inc., United States; Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind,
United States; Mobility International USA, United States; and the National Association
for Visually Handicapped, United States.